Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco has a new nickname.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor congratulated the team on its 33-31 “Thursday Night Football” win against the Pittsburgh Steelers during a post-game locker room video, posted to Facebook Oct. 17. He also gifted a few game balls to some key Bengals players, including Flacco, who was recently acquired by Cincinnati from the Cleveland Browns earlier this month.
As Taylor was announcing Flacco’s game-winning stats – completing 31 of his 47 attempts for 342 passing yards with three touchdowns – a few unidentified Bengals players can be heard shouting “Aflac,” a quacking nod to the QB’s last name.
The term “Aflac” is also a reference to the popular Aflac insurance commercials, which feature a white duck that quacks the company’s name.
It appears some fellow Bengals have gifted Flacco with a new term of endearment. (We’ll see if this one sticks.) But “Aflac” isn’t Flacco’s only nickname.
Per SF Gate, a banner with the words “Joe Calm to the Rescue” was spotted hanging in Paycor Stadium during the Bengals-Steelers “Thursday Night Football” matchup. The banner was designed by Jeff Wagner, a Bengals fan who has been making and hanging 40-inch banners at every home game since 2000, per his Twitter.
Flacco was also regifted the moniker of “Joe Cool” while playing for the Browns earlier this season. Flacco originally held the title while playing for the Baltimore Ravens from 2008 to 2018.
Although a few football stars have carried the name, including four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana, Marca reports that Bengals fans quickly pushed back against the label as it has become associated with Joe Burrow over recent years.
While playing for the Denver Broncos in 2019, the now 40-year-old quarterback was also given the nicknames of “Pretty Boy Flacco” and “Papa Joe,” a lighthearted dig at Flacco’s age.
Other nicknames include “January Joe” and “Elite Dragon,” which, according to Sporting News, refers to a meme of Flacco that surfaced online during the 2012-2013 NFL season, when he led the Ravens to their second Super Bowl win in franchise history.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals players give Joe Flacco new nickname inspired by iconic insurance duck
Reporting by Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
